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| Majestic view of the mountains from the spot |
It was an instant decision to visit this place, whose name appealed most to us at the first instance when we saw some pictures of the place on the facebook timeline of our friend Srikant Acharya. The name Mandasaru Kuti, reminded us of the then dangerous demon Mandasur who ate a cart full of Manda Pitha. The pictures were awesome which energized the photographer in me to take a rather long trip outside my comfort zone to see this place inside Odisha and at one hundred and fifty kilometers from my city.
We had been travellers for quite long and we have seen many places and everytime we wanted a break somehow we ended up landing in some other state to see the places, but we never gave an introspection on the places in and around Odisha or to be more specific our district. This was a golden chance to explore something new.
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| The small balcony for visitors to seat and view nature |
On the eve of Raja Sankranti in the morning we suddenly decided to hit the road and reach Mandasaru Kuti. The travel was very pleasant due to the cloudy weather. The stretch from Berhampur till Raikia via -Hinjilicut - Aska - Bhanjanagar - Durgaprasad - Kalinga - G Udayagiri was an awesome drive. The roads are wide and well protected and that cut short the driving duration.
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| Information panel inside the premises |
Beginning from Berhampur at about 11 in the morning we reached Hinjilicut at 12 and had some breakfast at Lily Video on the Bus Stand premises. From there we moved on for another 100 KMs to reach Raikia at about 3 PM. Information about the place was not available enroute neither the place was advertised enough for a common traveller to know about this. From Raikia we moved right and reached someplace where finally we saw a very small board informing us about the place as an Eco Tourism Spot.
The road to the place is in dilapidated condition and inhabited by animals of all sorts who do not mind making the road their shed. We had difficulty in driving through the narrow roads till the place which took us about half an hour for a stretch of only 12 KMs. But the reach was worth it.
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| Entry Fee per person @10 Rupees |
Mandasaru is a small hillock side spot near Raikia in Kandhamal District of Odisha, about 12 KMs from Raikia, 35 KMs from G.Udayagiri and 155 KMs from Berhampur. The travel is very relaxing except the last 12 KMS where you have to be extra careful about the cattle on the road and also some kuccha roads in that area. Once you reach the area, there is absolutely nothing you find at the front of the place, except a saal tree plantation garden with few swings for kids and a statue of Mother mary atop a small dias like elevation surrounded by some flower plants.
Getting inside costs you 10 Rupees for each visitor and you won't regret paying that once you start moving inside the garden towards the other end, there is a big tower with chairs for visitors. When you climb atop the tower you will be mesmerized to see the breathtaking view of a deep depression of about 600 Feets from the level you are in and the depression runs forward till many layers of mountains and tall and flat stonewall like structures which is a great view to relax.
There are two towers, one double decker tower and another single. You can take a hundred of pictures there and still you will want to shoot some more. The place is indeed a very beautiful place which in my personal view all people must visit. When You see the majestic view of the mountains on both sides of the deep depression, you forget all the pains you have taken to reach that spot.
We are spending thousands of rupees to go out and visit similar places in and around Ooty or Kodaikanal, but we are unaware of the places inside our own state where you can see everything in such a beautiful way. This place has not been victim of high traffic visitors and so it is clean and green and the place is very relaxing in nature.
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| Wooden Cottage with all modern amenities |
For visitors who wish to spend some more time there at night, there is a wooden cottage with all modern facilities available on the side of the hill, where staying at night and watching hundreds of varieties of insects is yet another wonderful experience as my friend Srikant intimated me.
We spent about an hour there but could not stay for long because we had to return back home and so we left the place with feeling of missing something. Nature can be so relaxing and releaving of all your pains, can only be felt at this place called Mandasaru.
If you are planning for a days vacation, I suggest you visit this place. Make sure if you are going there carry your own eatables and water too. Although there is provision of water there, and also food can be made available on special request.
The best time to visit Mandasaru is now, in rains the roads may become muddy making your travel experience sour. Winter here is extremely chilling cold and so you may have to carry a lot of warm clothes. Do not forget to charge your mobiles to the full for the unlimited number of selfies you will take there and for the camera yielding friends, carry an extra battery and a wide lens for the best panoramic shot. Sadly I did not have a wide lens and so could not take a good wide shot.
I would like to suggest the government to make extra efforts to popularize this place by advertising about this place in different fora and also placing banners and boards across the district roads so that people can go there and please upgrade the roads so that occasional visitors like us find the riding enjoyable.
I forgot to mention that all along the road from Raikia to Mandasaru, we saw big farms of Plantain and Mango and trees as tall as three to four feet were laden with ripe mangoes which was very interesting. We wished if we can put our hand on some such trees but we are avoding sugar these days. But you can stop by and ask the farmers to show you their garden.
My friend Srikant, whose facebook post created my interest in the place intimated later that there is a small waterfall on the way to Mandasaru from Raikia, which we missed, because of unavailability of information. So we sincerely request the government to create some awareness and also place milestones and directions to different places in that terrain.
Our tour itinerary :
11:00 AM - Began journey from Berhampur
11:45 AM - Breakfast at Lily Video, Hinjilicut
12:15 PM - hit the road to Mandasaru
12:45 PM - Aska, Enjoyed Kheera (Cucumber) and Pineapple
1:45 PM - Reached Bhanjanagar
2:15 PM - Durga Prasad, Picked up some soft drinks and Cold water
2:30 PM - Reached Kalinga after enjoying a beatiful scenic drive on the Kalinga Ghats.
2:45 PM - Reached G. Udayagiri, collected further directions from friends
3:10 PM - Reached Raikia collected directions from local people
3:30 PM - Reached Mandasaru
4:45 PM - Left Mandasaru
5:40 PM - Reached G Udayagiri, Thanked from Srikanta for the direction
6:00 PM - Entered the Kalinga Ghat roads
6:10 PM - Reached Durgaprasad and had some snacks
8:30 PM - Reached Berhampur safely
Total Distance : 325 KMs (From my home)
Food and Beverages are available all throughout the route so do not worry. You can have lunch at Durga Prasad or G.Udayagiri where good number of hotels are available offering common food like Rice, Dal, Curry etc.
I suggest you begin the journey early in the morning so that you can spend some more time there.
